The final known image of Ohio State’s last appearance in Lucas Oil Stadium are of a dejected Urban Meyer sitting in a golf cart, picking at a Papa Johns pizza with one hand and combing his hand through his hair with the other.
The moment became the face of a painful loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game that handed the Buckeyes their first loss in two seasons. And a year later, as they venture back to Indianapolis and the place where their championship hopes and dreams dissolved on a cold December night, there are poignant memories that remain.
"I think it’ll definitely be a thought that goes through our head with everything that we saw the year before," senior wide receiver Evan Spencer said Monday. "We have to channel those memories and use them to our benefit."
In a way, Ohio State — which has climbed back into the thick of a national picture that will, at long last, be solidified Sunday — has done that all season.
Meyer’s crew first had to overcome the loss of Braxton Miller, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury 12 days before the season opener. Shortly after that, they had to rally back after a stunning loss to Virginia Tech in Week Two that looked like it might be the beginning of a turbulent season without Miller and his dynamic abilities.
"I told our players — you add in the fact you lost your Heisman preseason candidate at the beginning of the season, we didn't have our offensive captains play the first four or five games of the year — I said, 'You shouldn't be in this situation.' So you have to really reflect upon how that happened. There is not good fortune, the ball didn't bounce your way. We don't believe in that," Meyer said.
"We believe in an extremely close team —an extremely close team that leans on each other in tough times."
And these times are as tough as ever for Ohio State after a season-ending injury to starting quarterback J.T. Barrett and the death of teammate Kosta Karageorge, whose body was found Sunday after going missing for four days.
"Every red flag is up, every excuse is out there to not play well, to not win a game, to lose a game. You have some really good built in excuses," Meyer said. "To overcome the incredible tragedy that happened last night, this is a real challenge ... I can tell you this: (We're an) extremely close team that does a lot of things together and cares about each other."
As such, the Buckeyes march forward to Indianapolis with a clear purpose.
“It’s championship week here at Ohio State,” Meyer said Monday.
But they do so with heavy and broken hearts.
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
To say Wisconsin’s offense centers around all-world running back Melvin Gordon — who leads the nation with 2,260 yards and 26 touchdowns — is a colossal understatement. Behind an offensive line that’s an average size of 6-foot-6, 320 pounds, the Badgers have battered teams into submission this season.
While the Buckeyes have been tested by other talented running backs like Minnesota’s David Cobb and Indiana’s Tevin Coleman, stopping Gordon should be their biggest challenge of the year.
“We’re going to have to devote some more personnel to stopping the run,” Meyer said Sunday. “We’ve played him before, I’m not looking forward to watching that video.”
Last year, Ohio State held Gordon to 74 yards and 14 carries in a 31-24 win in Columbus. But the redshirt junior and bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate is bigger, stronger and faster than he was last season.
“He has really good vision, really good leg drive … he’s driving through defenders,” senior defensive tackle Michael Bennett said.
And behind that massive offensive line?
“He knows what they’re gonna do how they operate," Bennett said. "They know how he operates.”
It’s why Wisconsin averages 334 rushing yards a game. As Gordon goes, so goes Wisconsin.
On defense, the Badgers have an expectedly-stout unit that’s surrendering just 17 points (fourth in the country) and 260 yards a game (second in the country).
While they haven’t played an offense quite like Ohio State’s this season, Wisconsin’s second-ranked pass defense presents a real problem for Cardale Jones.
Buckeye Breakdown
After the Buckeyes beat arch rival Michigan Saturday, a triumph as celebrated as any in Columbus was met with a certain sense of angst after quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his ankle early in the fourth quarter.
“It’s your senior day, you just beat the team up north, you’re going to the Big Ten Championship Game and you feel like something’s missing,” senior tight end Jeff Heuerman said last weekend.
“And really something is missing — your starting quarterback that you’ve rallied around all season is done.”
After all, Barrett — a redshirt freshman who was called upon to replace Braxton Miller 12 days before the start of the season — is a major reason why Ohio State’s heading back to Lucas Oil Stadium in the first place.
As such, familiar clouds hover an Ohio State team that’s trying to replace a star quarterback for the second time in three months. The Buckeyes, though, maintain a steadfast faith in backup Cardale Jones, who will make his first-career start Saturday.
“It’s his show, he’s got the keys to the car,” Meyer said. “: “He’s big … there’s very good pocket presence by him … he’s got it all athletically. He’s got a cannon for an arm.”
And while Jones, who is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and can launch the ball like a rocket, is talented, he has yet to play meaningful minutes this season. As such, there remains doubt over how Jones will perform on such a massive stage.
“I feel like his world is probably like mine was at the beginning of the year. If anybody knows what that feels like, I definitely do,” Barrett, who was, of course, tossed into the fire earlier this season.
“But Cardale’s a great player. Honestly feel like if I wasn’t starting this year, Cardale would’ve did the same things that I did this year because Cardale’s that talented.”
Coupled with an offense system that Meyer labeled “quarterback friendly,” there’s a belief among players and coaches that Jones might be set up for success much like Barrett was.
“The quarterback doesn’t have to win games for us, the quarterback has to manage games and distribute the football and lead,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman said. “We’ve seen that throughout this season. As long as he’s mentally prepared and he’s got a ton of physical tools … I have nothing but the utmost confidence in him because of what we’ve got around him.”
Jones, though, will have much to prove in the glare of the national spotlight this weekend.
How It'll Play Out
When told his Ohio State Buckeyes were a four-point underdog to Wisconsin Monday, Urban Meyer's eyes widened.
"We're underdogs?" he said. He tightened his lips.
"I didn't know that."
And for what it's worth, it probably doesn't matter that much for an Ohio State team that's faced considerably more adversity this week and, really, this whole season.
Saturday comes down to two things: Can the Buckeyes stop Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin's powerful run game and can Cardale Jones at least be a serviceable quarterback in place of Barrett.
For starters, Gordon, who's arguably the best running back in the country, will get his carries and he'll get his yards. Ohio State's defense has struggled the last three weeks and it's likely the redshirt junior will give them similar problems.
But it's hard to imagine Wisconsin posing much of a threat through the air (though if they can start striking in the play-action game, it'll spell trouble). It makes the Badgers one-dimensional and predictable.
On offense, Jones, who can truly sling the ball 75 yards, won't be asked to do so. Ohio State's going to simplify the game for him and rely on a matured group of players around him to the heavy lifting.
When the Buckeyes tried to do that against the Hokies in Week Two, it failed. It won't this time.
ELEVEN WARRIORS STAFF PREDICTION: Ohio State 26, Wisconsin 25.
